FBI is Investigating D.B. Cooper’s Alleged Newly Discovered Parachute

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Dogface82

JAMESG posted the link to Newsweek. Newsweek has a link to an hour long documentary on finding the alleged DB Cooper parachute rig at the McCoy farm in Cove City NC. I highly recommend reading the article and viewing the video.

Yes Jimmy gives us good stuff to read!!



Lets be honest guys.. We dont know if the real DB cooper is still here!!

If he was that complex in doing what he did,he may be!!

[Arnold_OldSchool]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpeylnSDuyI

This guy is dedicated to debunking and correcting DB Cooper mythos. Here he goes over the UM segment and explains what they got wrong.

- The big takeaway is that Cooper had another bag with him, which UM and most other places never mention. DB could have had rope and any of "tools" needed to secure the money.

- There's a bunch of little details besides that.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by Arnold_OldSchool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpeylnSDuyI

This guy is dedicated to debunking and correcting DB Cooper mythos. Here he goes over the UM segment and explains what they got wrong.

- The big takeaway is that Cooper had another bag with him, which UM and most other places never mention. DB could have had rope and any of "tools" needed to secure the money.

- There's a bunch of little details besides that.

I can't watch it at the moment, but is this just about him having the 'dummy' parachute?

IIRC, he was delivered 4 chutes.. 2 of them he cut up, seemingly to secure the money.

Of the two that were left.. They appear to have been taken with him. One of those was a 'dummy' chute used for training on the ground.. It was basically sealed up.

So, we don't fully know whether he jumped with the real or dummy chute strapped to his back.

The fact that $5k was found.. Either shows he didn't secure the money well, even with the 'tools' he had, or.. The crazy theory that he went back and planted that money.. Which just seems way too much for me to believe.

I still think he went splat.. But, I can't prove it, so.. I can't prove anyone wrong.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by Arnold_OldSchool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpeylnSDuyI

This guy is dedicated to debunking and correcting DB Cooper mythos. Here he goes over the UM segment and explains what they got wrong.

- The big takeaway is that Cooper had another bag with him, which UM and most other places never mention. DB could have had rope and any of "tools" needed to secure the money.

- There's a bunch of little details besides that.

Excellent video: would love if he could do the same to every segment on UM, even though they generally did great reenactments I am confident we could create a very long thread similar to this video about literally every segment.

Not specifically UM, but I know my illusions were shattered in the mid 1990s when watching a Rescue 911 episode that was based here in Nova Scotia. They specifically named a gas station (Irving Big Stop) in the segment and the reenactment shows a tiny, run down station when in reality Big Stops are just that: large service stations with a big convenience store & restaurant and ample truck parking. Before that point I just assumed the reenactments were close to 100% accurate but they could not have gotten it more wrong.

[Dude111]

Yes a g00d video!!

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by Labonte18

I can't watch it at the moment, but is this just about him having the 'dummy' parachute?

IIRC, he was delivered 4 chutes.. 2 of them he cut up, seemingly to secure the money.

Of the two that were left.. They appear to have been taken with him. One of those was a 'dummy' chute used for training on the ground.. It was basically sealed up.

So, we don't fully know whether he jumped with the real or dummy chute strapped to his back.

The fact that $5k was found.. Either shows he didn't secure the money well, even with the 'tools' he had, or.. The crazy theory that he went back and planted that money.. Which just seems way too much for me to believe.

I still think he went splat.. But, I can't prove it, so.. I can't prove anyone wrong.

He posted the same video I was talking about when I revived the thread, thank you Arnold Old School by the way. I wasn't sure we were allowed to post those on here but I guess we can.

If you haven't had a chance to watch it his main contentions are that the money not turning up in circulation is pretty much a non issue for the reasons stated above, will have to do some more research on this because many others have said its a smoking gun he didn't spend it. Be nice to get some definitive answers on this

He believes DB Cooper survived. Two of the other primary arguments are that he believes that Cooper landed in a more populated area than people think and it would not have been hard to get back to civilization. Basically he thinks its the county just north of Portland in Washington state and argues its more residential than people think.

He also seems to have a healthy respect for parachutes and their capacity to work.

There are other arguments he's made to, though I'm not really thinking of them right now, they may merit discussion later.

But my personal take on his parachute argument is basically this: Cooper came off as personable, articulate, calm and in control according to the flight attendants. I just have a hard time believing he would have attempted this without some knowledge of parachutes and operating them. And from what I can understand he took the one that was consistent with what someone familiar with military chutes rather than civilian ones would have taken. That may or may not be significant.

But you seem to contend that Cooper might have strapped on the dummy chute, which would have been either colossal bad luck or stupidity, depending on how obvious the dummy chute would have been. I simply don't know enough about parachutes to say either way, but I'm assuming that someone with knowledge of chutes could tell couldn't they? As a question for anyone with knowledge of these chutes is a dummy chute obvious and something someone with rudimentary knowledge of skydiving could spot, or is it something only a pro could spot? If its not that obvious I suppose Cooper could have strapped that one on. But you'd think even if he had done it, he would have strapped the second one on as well, a precaution even an inexperienced skydiver would have taken.

As for his argument over where Cooper landed, that in my view is weaker because no one really knows for sure where he landed, they only have a general idea. Far as I can tell with that area, the survivability of the drop spot could have differed greatly based on a few miles. He also seems to feel regardless of where Cooper landed he was near interstate 5 which would have served as a waypoint. But unless he landed within earshot of the traffic or within view of it, he did not know where he was exactly and could have easily taken the wrong angle or direction.

He also could have had a compass with him, but even that wouldn't have done him any good without knowing exactly where he was. Its noteworthy that Cooper never asked for a specific flight path so he would have had no way of knowing where he was jumping into. According to the crew he had to have jumped between 8:10 pm or 8:15 pm, which would have put him on the ground no later than 8:30 PM or so, increasing the chance he should have been observed if he landed in a populated area since most people would still be awake. However this was in November, so it would have been dark by that time so someone seeing him was not certain even in a residential area.

Also notable all his copycats survived.

In my view, it just all comes down if his chute worked and where he landed. But there is just no way of knowing either which is why it continues to be a frustrating case.

[BuffaloBill]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Yes Jimmy gives us good stuff to read!!



Lets be honest guys.. We dont know if the real DB cooper is still here!!

If he was that complex in doing what he did,he may be!!

Excellent video and well done. Worth the watch.

[Dude111]

Yes thank you Jimmy!!

This case is fascinating

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by XCalibur

He posted the same video I was talking about when I revived the thread, thank you Arnold Old School by the way. I wasn't sure we were allowed to post those on here but I guess we can.

If you haven't had a chance to watch it his main contentions are that the money not turning up in circulation is pretty much a non issue for the reasons stated above, will have to do some more research on this because many others have said its a smoking gun he didn't spend it. Be nice to get some definitive answers on this

He believes DB Cooper survived. Two of the other primary arguments are that he believes that Cooper landed in a more populated area than people think and it would not have been hard to get back to civilization. Basically he thinks its the county just north of Portland in Washington state and argues its more residential than people think.

He also seems to have a healthy respect for parachutes and their capacity to work.

There are other arguments he's made to, though I'm not really thinking of them right now, they may merit discussion later.

But my personal take on his parachute argument is basically this: Cooper came off as personable, articulate, calm and in control according to the flight attendants. I just have a hard time believing he would have attempted this without some knowledge of parachutes and operating them. And from what I can understand he took the one that was consistent with what someone familiar with military chutes rather than civilian ones would have taken. That may or may not be significant.

But you seem to contend that Cooper might have strapped on the dummy chute, which would have been either colossal bad luck or stupidity, depending on how obvious the dummy chute would have been. I simply don't know enough about parachutes to say either way, but I'm assuming that someone with knowledge of chutes could tell couldn't they? As a question for anyone with knowledge of these chutes is a dummy chute obvious and something someone with rudimentary knowledge of skydiving could spot, or is it something only a pro could spot? If its not that obvious I suppose Cooper could have strapped that one on. But you'd think even if he had done it, he would have strapped the second one on as well, a precaution even an inexperienced skydiver would have taken.

As for his argument over where Cooper landed, that in my view is weaker because no one really knows for sure where he landed, they only have a general idea. Far as I can tell with that area, the survivability of the drop spot could have differed greatly based on a few miles. He also seems to feel regardless of where Cooper landed he was near interstate 5 which would have served as a waypoint. But unless he landed within earshot of the traffic or within view of it, he did not know where he was exactly and could have easily taken the wrong angle or direction.

He also could have had a compass with him, but even that wouldn't have done him any good without knowing exactly where he was. Its noteworthy that Cooper never asked for a specific flight path so he would have had no way of knowing where he was jumping into. According to the crew he had to have jumped between 8:10 pm or 8:15 pm, which would have put him on the ground no later than 8:30 PM or so, increasing the chance he should have been observed if he landed in a populated area since most people would still be awake. However this was in November, so it would have been dark by that time so someone seeing him was not certain even in a residential area.

Also notable all his copycats survived.

In my view, it just all comes down if his chute worked and where he landed. But there is just no way of knowing either which is why it continues to be a frustrating case.

One of the chutes delivered to the plane was a dummy chute. Sewn shut. Yes.. An experienced jumper would have noticed that. It was taken to the plane by mistake, this wasn't some grand scheme or anything, just.. They had to get 4 chutes quickly and someone made a mistake.

From what I've seen on it, the 'dummy' chute was NOT one that was left behind/cut up on the plane. So.. If it wasn't left on the plane. He took it with him.

Why? Why would you take a dummy chute if you knew that's what it was? There's just.. Zero reason. Now, we don't know if he wore that chute as a main or had it as a backup.. But, the fact that he took it. I mean.. We could guess here that he found it, got mad and threw it out of the plane.. Doesn't really fit his temperment, does it?


No one knows where he landed because no one knows where he jumped. the only real things we know are where the placard from the plane was found.. That could have blown out any time after the door was opened, so it doesn't tell us the earliest or latest time he could have jumped.. And.. As I recall, it was just a laminated piece of paper, which would flutter around quite a bit and for quite a distance coming down from 10k feet.


His copycats survived because they didn't jump at night, in the rain, into forest, in a business suit.. Hell.. The McCoy angle, as I've said before.. That one I give almost no credence to.. Comparing the two is like comparing Coke to Chek Cola. One is just far superior to the other. McCoy was a bumbling idiot.. As I recall, he was hitchhiking down the road in his jump suit while his hijacking was all over the news and that was one of the main reasons he was caught.

Now, it's also important to remember that the majority of Cooper copycats.. Never jumped. But.. Of those that did..

Richard LaPoint.. Army experience. Jumped over northern Colorado. Go look at the terrain. There's two things there. Plains and mountains.. He didn't jump over the mountains. He was captured shortly after his jump when they tracked him by his footprints in the snow. Daylight jump. Into basically clear terrain.

Merlyn St George.. Crapped his pants when it came time to jump and asked for a car.

Frederick Hahneman is an interesting one. Jumped over the Honduras. Into thick vegetation, much like Cooper at night as well.. However.. 2 differences here to me.. first, he jumped about 4am in May.. So, sunrise would only have been about 2 hours away, much different than Cooper jumping just as night took hold. Also, the weather was apparently clear. The temps in Honduras at the time would also have been.. Well, he'd have been more at risk of heat stroke than hypothermia. The other reason this one is really interesting.. He was just a regular guy.. I mean, he was nuts, but he had no real training. Again, interesting, doesn't say anything, because i think Cooper was likely Canadian military.. That's my theory.

Robb Heady.. I'm not familiar with this one.. Wikipedia says the pilot changed the heading causing him to miss his drop zone.. I'll have to read up on it. This guy was 22.

Martin McNally.. Jumped over Peru, IN.. Again, pull that up on Google Maps.. Hardly a tree in sight.

In short.. None of them tried as technically challenging a jump as Cooper, with the exception of Hahneman.. 50 years old. jumping at night over the jungles of Honduras? Yeah.. Credit where it's due. You want to argue with someone saying "There's no way he could have survived".. You put that Hahneman jump out. That's the one where even I say.. I think he went splat, but.. I have to admit there's a chance he made it.

Now.. I didn't know about this one, just found it looking up all the copycats.. You are incorrect in saying that all of them survived.. But.. I won't hold this one against you.. Read up on it..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip...nes_Flight_812

[Dude111]

So there is no way you can open a dummy chute and use it???

[Allierain]

Originally Posted by Mike82

Not specifically UM, but I know my illusions were shattered in the mid 1990s when watching a Rescue 911 episode that was based here in Nova Scotia. They specifically named a gas station (Irving Big Stop) in the segment and the reenactment shows a tiny, run down station when in reality Big Stops are just that: large service stations with a big convenience store & restaurant and ample truck parking. Before that point I just assumed the reenactments were close to 100% accurate but they could not have gotten it more wrong.

Yeah I get ya, I’m learning this about UM itself too. Most of these cases delved into lately are revealing so much more information than UM used in their segments, leaving me like “say what??” I get when you are filming a short 15 minute segment about a case you really have to pick and choose what you feature. But much of this new information has changed how I feel about many things including the view of certain suspects. I didn’t think UM was skewing my views quite like that. Then again, the show is more about mysteries so that is the view they had while investigating potential stories.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by Dude111

So there is no way you can open a dummy chute and use it???

You'd probably have to ask an experienced skydiver - or better yet, an experienced rigger.. One familiar with the chutes used.

My theory on it, and that's all this is and I am not an experienced skydiver...

The chute was sewn shut, so.. Based on that, I would presume if you cut the stitches. And assuming the chute was packed properly.. It could be used. Was this packed with the intention of it being used as a 'dummy' chute? In that case, it might not have been packed properly. Or, was this a properly packed chute that was chosen to be sewn shut?


Could or would you 'undummy' it at 10k feet with $200k in cash strapped to you when you had three other good chutes?

Any way you look at that.. I don't see using it being a good idea. Why take the chance? Was this chute 'retired' due to age? If so.. Not one I'd want to use. I can give you multiple reasons to not use it. I can only give you one to use it.. That being.. No other choice. He had three other choices.

Originally Posted by Mike82

Not specifically UM, but I know my illusions were shattered in the mid 1990s when watching a Rescue 911 episode that was based here in Nova Scotia. They specifically named a gas station (Irving Big Stop) in the segment and the reenactment shows a tiny, run down station when in reality Big Stops are just that: large service stations with a big convenience store & restaurant and ample truck parking. Before that point I just assumed the reenactments were close to 100% accurate but they could not have gotten it more wrong.

I meant to reply to this before.. A buddy of mine was part of the crew that responded to an emergency that was recreated on Rescue 911. It was up in the Berea area of Greenville, SC.. He was a firefighter and they were the first ones on scene.. As i recall, it was a guy who dove into his swimming pool and broke his neck

https://rescue911.fandom.com/wiki/Cannonball_Kid

That's it. he said the re-enactment was pretty accurate.. They didn't use the same house / same pool or anything, but the recreation of the events was correct.

I guess it just.. You have to look at it as how many of the details need to be spot on?

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by Labonte18

You'd probably have to ask an experienced skydiver - or better yet, an experienced rigger.. One familiar with the chutes used.

My theory on it, and that's all this is and I am not an experienced skydiver...

The chute was sewn shut, so.. Based on that, I would presume if you cut the stitches. And assuming the chute was packed properly.. It could be used. Was this packed with the intention of it being used as a 'dummy' chute? In that case, it might not have been packed properly. Or, was this a properly packed chute that was chosen to be sewn shut?


Could or would you 'undummy' it at 10k feet with $200k in cash strapped to you when you had three other good chutes?

Any way you look at that.. I don't see using it being a good idea. Why take the chance? Was this chute 'retired' due to age? If so.. Not one I'd want to use. I can give you multiple reasons to not use it. I can only give you one to use it.. That being.. No other choice. He had three other choices.



I meant to reply to this before.. A buddy of mine was part of the crew that responded to an emergency that was recreated on Rescue 911. It was up in the Berea area of Greenville, SC.. He was a firefighter and they were the first ones on scene.. As i recall, it was a guy who dove into his swimming pool and broke his neck

https://rescue911.fandom.com/wiki/Cannonball_Kid

That's it. he said the re-enactment was pretty accurate.. They didn't use the same house / same pool or anything, but the recreation of the events was correct.

I guess it just.. You have to look at it as how many of the details need to be spot on?

The segment was clear that the dummy chute would not open under any circumstances. And the theory on why Cooper took it is because he wanted something to put the money in. Of course the extra bag he had seems to contradict that, but it could have had important stuff like survival gear.

But even if he didn't know it was a dummy chute, he still took one functional parachute with him, the military style one that was apparently more reliable, so he still could have survived.

I don't know if you had a chance to view the video. But as far as I can tell the main reasons he seems to think Cooper survived are his confidence in parachutes, and he also seems confident of the general area he landed, which was the county just north of Portland in Washington state. I looked that up and it appears to be Clarke County Washington, which is the Vancouver Washington area which he contends was fairly well populated at the time and includes Washington state suburbs of Portland. In short, he believes Cooper landed not far north of Portland. Whereas the Unsolved Mysteries segment seems to feel he landed further north in more sparsely populated areas. And he thinks that the only river Cooper could have landed in was the Lewis River and that he had already passed Lake Merwyn and the Washougal Rivers.

For the record though, I don't know why he is this confident of the jump out spot, it might be in one of his other videos.

Among his other contentions:

1. He dismisses the money not turning up in circulation argument, says the Fed did not start scanning returned bills to the early 90's and the bill lifecycle back then was only 18 months

2. He also says the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast exaggerated how bad the weather was, possibly for dramatic effect.

3. Did not seem to think much of the FBI agent interviewed, his first name was Ralph, he says he was not the main agent assigned to the case and had some misleading info.

4. He also dismissed the newest sketch of Cooper Florence Shaffner had done, believing her memory may have been distorted by the late 80's and thinks the original is still the more accurate.

5. On a more comical note, he was critical of the actor who portrayed Cooper, since Cooper did not seem to have an accent and this guy had sort of a southern drawl, and was yelling a lot whereas most indications are Cooper remained calm and softspoken. He compared the actor to Yosemite Sam.

I may have to watch some more videos to know how he came to the conclusions he did, but let me know what you think if you ever have a chance to view them. they are interesting at least.

I'm still about 50-50 myself. I personally think there are two main scenarios he didn't survive, and those are a parachute malfunction, or he landed in some kind of rough water with a current and was unable to swim to safety. If neither of those two things happened, I personally think he survived. But just me.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by XCalibur

The segment was clear that the dummy chute would not open under any circumstances. And the theory on why Cooper took it is because he wanted something to put the money in. Of course the extra bag he had seems to contradict that, but it could have had important stuff like survival gear.

But even if he didn't know it was a dummy chute, he still took one functional parachute with him, the military style one that was apparently more reliable, so he still could have survived.

I don't know if you had a chance to view the video. But as far as I can tell the main reasons he seems to think Cooper survived are his confidence in parachutes, and he also seems confident of the general area he landed, which was the county just north of Portland in Washington state. I looked that up and it appears to be Clarke County Washington, which is the Vancouver Washington area which he contends was fairly well populated at the time and includes Washington state suburbs of Portland. In short, he believes Cooper landed not far north of Portland. Whereas the Unsolved Mysteries segment seems to feel he landed further north in more sparsely populated areas. And he thinks that the only river Cooper could have landed in was the Lewis River and that he had already passed Lake Merwyn and the Washougal Rivers.

For the record though, I don't know why he is this confident of the jump out spot, it might be in one of his other videos.

Among his other contentions:

1. He dismisses the money not turning up in circulation argument, says the Fed did not start scanning returned bills to the early 90's and the bill lifecycle back then was only 18 months

2. He also says the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast exaggerated how bad the weather was, possibly for dramatic effect.

3. Did not seem to think much of the FBI agent interviewed, his first name was Ralph, he says he was not the main agent assigned to the case and had some misleading info.

4. He also dismissed the newest sketch of Cooper Florence Shaffner had done, believing her memory may have been distorted by the late 80's and thinks the original is still the more accurate.

5. On a more comical note, he was critical of the actor who portrayed Cooper, since Cooper did not seem to have an accent and this guy had sort of a southern drawl, and was yelling a lot whereas most indications are Cooper remained calm and softspoken. He compared the actor to Yosemite Sam.

I may have to watch some more videos to know how he came to the conclusions he did, but let me know what you think if you ever have a chance to view them. they are interesting at least.

I'm still about 50-50 myself. I personally think there are two main scenarios he didn't survive, and those are a parachute malfunction, or he landed in some kind of rough water with a current and was unable to swim to safety. If neither of those two things happened, I personally think he survived. But just me.

It's one of the beautiful cases where everyone can have a different view of it. And everyone can claim they're right.

Again, personally, I think he went splat. Or died of exposure. Whatever. He didn't make it, that much I'll say is my opinion. The best theory I have is that he was Canadian military. Based on some of the language he used. It wasn't US English. It checks all the boxes, but.. that doesn't mean it's right.

I'd have to pull the radar data on the flight again, but.. I seem to recall that they did fly over Portland, so.. A jump just north of there would certainly be possible..

One thing I see very little on.. And I can't really even find any information on it.. How did he get to the airport?

I've found NOTHING on that. You know the FBI had to interview every cab driver who went to the Portland airport that day. If they have public transport to it, they talked to every bus driver.. But.. The guy showed up at the airport and bought a ticket and hijacked a plane and absconded with $200k.. And as mysteriously as he appeared, he was gone. Did he stay at a hotel and walk? Was he a local?

One thing I am as confident as I can be about.. Richard McCoy was NOT DB Cooper. I don't think any of the suspects are him. But.. McCoy especially I discount. I leave open that little piece of possibility, because.. You never say never after all.. but..

Anyway.. As to a few of the points.. The weather 'not being as bad'.. Dude jumped in a business suit in the rain, in November. At night. Temps average 52 for a high and 41 for a low.. Wet, cold and in the dark.. I'm not saying it's not survivable, but..

Eyewitnesses under stress are some of the WORST witnesses you'll ever encounter.. But.. Honestly.. That's the best we have. I don't take the sketches - any of them - as gospel. I do tend to believe the general description.. That he was 5'9" or 5'10", slight build, 170-180lbs, olive complexion, and in his mid 40's.. Which... As I've said before.. If he didn't go splat.. He's dead now, because he drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney and there was just no way he was making it to his 90's, which is where he'd be now. MULTIPLE witnesses described him all the same way so far as the general features.

The olive skin.. One of the passengers thought he was either Mexican or Native American.. Now.. That could back up my theory about him being Canadian, as there's many natives there.. McCoy and most of the others were just typical white guys.

The bad part.. I don't really think there's any way this one can be solved. The DNA on the tie clip is the best evidence and.. We don't even know if that's his or contamination. I'd suspect that DNA has been run through every tool available and come up with bupkis. If it *IS* his DNA.. Well.. maybe there's hope, but that's about the only way. I keep hope alive, tho.. I'd like to see an answer to this one.

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by Labonte18

It's one of the beautiful cases where everyone can have a different view of it. And everyone can claim they're right.

Again, personally, I think he went splat. Or died of exposure. Whatever. He didn't make it, that much I'll say is my opinion. The best theory I have is that he was Canadian military. Based on some of the language he used. It wasn't US English. It checks all the boxes, but.. that doesn't mean it's right.

I'd have to pull the radar data on the flight again, but.. I seem to recall that they did fly over Portland, so.. A jump just north of there would certainly be possible..

One thing I see very little on.. And I can't really even find any information on it.. How did he get to the airport?

I've found NOTHING on that. You know the FBI had to interview every cab driver who went to the Portland airport that day. If they have public transport to it, they talked to every bus driver.. But.. The guy showed up at the airport and bought a ticket and hijacked a plane and absconded with $200k.. And as mysteriously as he appeared, he was gone. Did he stay at a hotel and walk? Was he a local?

One thing I am as confident as I can be about.. Richard McCoy was NOT DB Cooper. I don't think any of the suspects are him. But.. McCoy especially I discount. I leave open that little piece of possibility, because.. You never say never after all.. but..

Anyway.. As to a few of the points.. The weather 'not being as bad'.. Dude jumped in a business suit in the rain, in November. At night. Temps average 52 for a high and 41 for a low.. Wet, cold and in the dark.. I'm not saying it's not survivable, but..

Eyewitnesses under stress are some of the WORST witnesses you'll ever encounter.. But.. Honestly.. That's the best we have. I don't take the sketches - any of them - as gospel. I do tend to believe the general description.. That he was 5'9" or 5'10", slight build, 170-180lbs, olive complexion, and in his mid 40's.. Which... As I've said before.. If he didn't go splat.. He's dead now, because he drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney and there was just no way he was making it to his 90's, which is where he'd be now. MULTIPLE witnesses described him all the same way so far as the general features.

The olive skin.. One of the passengers thought he was either Mexican or Native American.. Now.. That could back up my theory about him being Canadian, as there's many natives there.. McCoy and most of the others were just typical white guys.

The bad part.. I don't really think there's any way this one can be solved. The DNA on the tie clip is the best evidence and.. We don't even know if that's his or contamination. I'd suspect that DNA has been run through every tool available and come up with bupkis. If it *IS* his DNA.. Well.. maybe there's hope, but that's about the only way. I keep hope alive, tho.. I'd like to see an answer to this one.

I agree that solving it will be tricky if not impossible. As I said I compared it to Jack the Ripper. Obviously a vastly different type of criminal and crime; but similar in that it is a high profile even iconic case, thousands of leads and tips generating to much crap to sort through, to much time having passed, to many suspects, and simply not enough physical evidence.

DB Cooper sleuth does agree with you on Richard McCoy, so that's probably a discussion for another time, sure the merits of that have been beat to death already so nothing more to discuss there for the time being I suppose.

But as far as the landing site, and how Cooper may have gotten to the airport, felt there was something to add there.

I think an obvious possibility we can ascertain, is based on the fact that Cooper boarded the plane in Portland. But in addition, when you look at his actions and what his plan seemed to be and when he jumped from the plane, it seems to me Cooper was trying to time his jump to where he would land again somewhere in the Portland area. So it looks to me like he was trying to get back there.

So the obvious implication here is, that Cooper had some kind of connection to Portland or the Portland area given the facts he boarded there and it seems to me he was also trying to get back there. Now I know this seems self evident and I'm sure you've probably considered the same conclusion, and I'm sure the FBI scoured the Portland area as well in search of a suspect. But I hadn't really seen it discussed extensively so felt it was at least worth mentioning.

But I think where some people get this wrong, its been mentioned by several sources Cooper did not specify a flight path, and he accepted the Reno stop off destination. So to casual observers it seems that Cooper did not plan this out well nor calculate in any way where he was going to land.

But based on some of my research on aviation, this is not necessarily the case. Most people are not aware that airplane flight paths between cities are not straight paths, but they fly more in arcs due to Earth curvature and other factors which save fuel. And most investigation materials into the case I've read indicates Cooper likely had some kind of connection to the airline industry and would have been aware of this. And if he didn't know the flight time between Seattle and Portland, which I imagine is only 45 minutes to an hour or so, he could have easily timed the initial flight from Portland to Seattle. And he did specify the speed he wanted the plane to fly even if he didn't specify a flight path. of course, that could have just been to better facilitate his jump.

What I'm getting at with this, is that Cooper's jump was not necessarily just random with him just wanting to get out of the plane and escape regardless of where he was landing, but it could have been timed and targeting the general area of Portland, back where he started. Due to the flight time, he would have known about when he was over the area, and he could very well have been aware of the flight arc between Seattle and Reno.

And remember, I-5 runs all the way down the West Coast, so he could have been counting on it as a waypoint.

So my honest theory is on his plan, I think he could very well have drove a vehicle to somewhere near the airport, or possibly even to the airport. He walks in, the rest we know. He planned to jump out into the general Portland area, jump, make it to Interstate 5, then the first sign he comes across he knows exactly where he is. Perhaps he then hitchhiked back to the airport or to wherever he left his vehicle. (Hitchhiking was a lot more common in the 1970's). Then he makes it to his car and rides off into the sunset with his 200 grand. Or maybe he landed close enough to his vehicle to walk.

None of the witnesses including the flight attendants testified that Cooper seemed out of shape or overweight, so its not out of the realm of possibility he was able to walk quite a ways assuming he wasn't hurt.

At least, I think this was his plan. Not fool proof for sure. But maybe not as random, desperate, or as much of a shot in the dark as we think.

But a couple of footnotes: as far as I know, none of the known suspects had ties to the Portland area, all of them were known to be alive after so if it was any of them then Cooper survived, the FBI has not been able to come up with a single suspect who disappeared about that time so no known suspects disappeared.

Now this doesn't prove anything by itself, it could very well be Cooper's only tie to the Portland area was a possible vehicle he had somewhere, or a hotel room. But I do think based on everything I know he was familiar with the I-5 corridor area between Portland and Seattle, and I think he lived along there somewhere at some point. That also doesn't mean he wasn't Canadian as you suggested, but I do think he lived in the Pacific Northwest at some point.